The Fraser of Allander Institute Podcast

Key Figures - Peter McGregor and Kim Swales

The Fraser of Allander Institute Podcast

Show Notes

In the third installment of our Key Figures series, Mairi Spowage speaks to Kim Swales and Peter McGregor: two economists who were director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at various times, and instrumental to our longstanding work in CG modelling.

More from The Fraser of Allander Institute Podcast

Oct 19, 2026

FAI economists Hannah Randolph and Josh Hampson are joined by Professor Glen Bramley of Heriot-Watt University and Eli Harji of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations to discuss issues in the housing market and how they relate to low-income households. The episode discusses how economists see the housing and rental markets, how affordability is measured, how housing policy and issues have changed over the last fifty years, and the role of social housing in reducing costs and linking to other services for social renters.

Oct 5, 2026

In the first topical episode of our Fraser Focus series on low-income households, Ben, Chirsty, and Hannah are joined by several guests to discuss the cost of living. We discuss how economists measure changes in the cost of living through price indices, how the Minimum Income Standard captures the minimum needed to participate in society, and different policy options for supporting households with the cost of living.

Sep 28, 2026

This episode introduces our new series, Fraser Focus on low-income households. Ben, Chirsty, and Hannah introduce the drivers of low income, including work, benefits, and the cost of living. They discuss the types of episodes the series will contain and what they're most looking forward to.

Jun 2, 2026

FAI economist Hannah Randolph is joined by Director Mairi Spowage and Jack Evans, a senior policy advisor for JRF in Scotland, to discuss new research on the labour market in Scotland. We discuss how many people potentially want to work across local authorities and regions in Scotland, as well as why we chose to create a measure of who wants to work rather than a traditional unemployment figure. We also talk about how issues with survey data pose a practical challenge for local authorities as they design local employability and poverty policy and services.

May 27, 2026

Ben Cooper is joined by Dr Markus Gehrsitz and Dr Sam Grant to talk about their latest research on post-release supervision of offenders and it's impact on reducing reoffending in the UK.

See all episodes →